I hope everyone is keeping safe and well during what I am sure is a difficult time for us all. As students, we have been temporarily withdrawn from placements and face-to-face lectures have been moved online for the foreseeable future. However, our local trust has given us the opportunity to undertake paid employment with them to help meet the expected demand caused by the coronavirus outbreak. These roles were based in the 111 service or emergency operations centre (EOC) as part of the 999 service around the region. I was placed in EOC as a 999 call taker answering emergency calls from the public and health professionals.
We started with an intense 2-week training course to familiarise ourselves with the dispatch system used by the ambulance service to triage calls. We also learned about the system C3, which is where we can see the calls and locations of the ambulances, and search for addresses. The training involved lots and lots of scenarios to prepare us for the different challenges of taking calls and provide us with the understanding and confidence needed to manage these! We were then introduced into the live environment with a mentor watching over us for five shifts before being signed off to take calls on our own. The mentors in the EOC were just as brilliant and knowledgeable as the mentors out on the road, which shows the quality of staff that the ambulance service employs!
The highlight so far has been delivering a baby boy over the phone while working on my birthday—unfortunately they already had a name picked so he wasn't named after me! I was able to talk both the mum and dad through how to prepare and ultimately deliver the baby in their own home before the crew arrived to take over the care. I have also been fortunate enough to spend a shift observing a dispatcher. This allowed me to see how they manage the stack of calls in their area and the other challenges that come with this role.
Working in EOC has significantly helped my understanding of how different calls are coded and placed into different categories (cat 1 to cat 4). I respected dispatchers and call takers before taking on this role, but after experiencing it first hand, I respect them even more and understand how difficult their job can be at times. Working alongside the paramedics in EOC has also given me a great insight into the different opportunities involved with being a paramedic and how the triage process changes over the phone compared with face-to-face. However, as much as I enjoy the current role I'm in, I do miss being out on the road caring for patients.
Alongside working, we still have university work to complete, with lectures and even our bioscience exam now having moved online. Face-to-face exams have been adapted to suit the current situation; however, the university and the Trust—both of which have been amazing at supporting us during this difficult time—are aiming to get us back out on the road and towards a sense of normalcy as soon as possible.
Overall, the opportunities presented by the pandemic have been challenging yet enjoyable and insightful, helping me to understand how the different calls are dealt with before the crews on the road receive them. In the long run, I feel that my experiences during this difficult time will help me to become a better paramedic.